A thing of simple beauty: the tin roof sundae from Humphrey Slocombe in San Francisco. During the past two months of my new baby’s life, I have been determined not to lose sight of the activities I loved the most before she arrived, cooking and dining out among them. Cooking has definitely been the more difficult of the two activities (Ever try opening the oven door with a baby strapped in a carrier across your chest? They come a LITTLE too close to actually falling in the oven.). So I’ve been trying to eat out as much as possible, and one of my little excursions with the baby has been to Humphrey Slocombe, an artisan ice cream shop in SF’s Mission neighborhood. On this trip, I sampled their staple flavor, Secret Breakfast (bourbon and cornflake ice cream), which was surprisingly delicious. But the stand out? The tin roof sundae, which consisted of vanilla ice cream,...

Just a sampling of deliciousness I devoured at A16 restaurant in SF. Green olive pizza served with chile oil? YES, please! One of my pre-baby jaunts to a restaurant I haven’t tried–A16 in San Francisco, known for their wood-fired pizzas and homemade pastas. More food porn after the click! A selection of housemade charcuterie with homemade pickles and Italian breadsticks. A big plate full of fluffy burrata cheese topped with a bit of olive oil and served with crostini. Always a good choice, wherever I dine! The Bianca pizza, topped with mozzarella, grana padano, green olives, basil, and a chile-garlic oil. Spicy, but really delicious. Pizza topped with mozzarella, Italian sausage, rapini and tomatoes. Another great, basic pizza, although I sometimes find rapani a bit strong for a pizza. A seafood stew. Spinach gnocci with a lamb ragu. One of the best dishes of the night! A...

One of the last sweet things I ate–coconut cream pie tart at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. One of my last sweet treats before being diagnosed with gestational diabetes was a trip to Tartine Bakery in San Francisco with a friend. And even though I’m sugar-free for the time being, this was an awesomely sweet way to go. We started with this coconut cream pie tart, which sounds decadent enough on it’s homemade tart dough and filled with luscious coconut pudding. But the bottom of the tart shell is filled with caramel and topped with a crunchy chocolate shell, and the whole shebang is finished with whipped cream and big old flakes of toasted coconut. YEAH. I know. THEN… I went for my personal favorite, an almond frangipane croissant. This was the single most flakiest pastry I have ever–EVER had. Ugh. So damn good, and that’s before I even got to the...

Just a sampling of the ridiculously good upscale comfort food I had at Town Hall restaurant in SF. There are three concrete things I know about life–1. Three cats in a bath tub do not a whirlpool make. 2. Oprah has a ginormous rack. and 3. This bitch (meaning me) loves her some smoked pork ribs. I’ve frequented festivals like Chicago’s Ribfest and even bought a smoker to make them at home. I had the chance to interview one of the chefs at Town Hall restaurant in SF for an article on barbecue, and what he told me about their barbecue rib sauce rocked my world. It really goes to show what happens when professional chefs attack a common barbecue recipe–mouth boners. Most barbecue sauce in the U.S. is made with a basic sweet tomato/ketchup-based sauce, or a quick vinegar sauce. At Town Hall, they smoke the ketchup, then add all the rib fat they get after smoking the...

14 styles of cupcakes, 672 mini cupcakes, and at least one fairly pregnant Leena: danger, thy name is Iron Cupcake SF. Held on the last Monday in January at the cute but tiny Leland Tea Company located in SF’s Tender-Nob hood, this competition featured 14 bakers and hoards of cupcake tasters gathered for one thing-the love all things tiny and cupcake-ish. I have been a member of this Meetup.com group for a nearly a year, but finally got around to entering the competition this January. The theme was bake sale, like items typically sold at a bake sale or church fundraiser. I was proud to rock out my version of the Ohio regional candy, the buckeye (peanut butter ball rolled in chocolate). Peanut butter cupcake, dark chocolate ganache topping, and peanut butter buttercream. Yeah. Pregnancy cravings miuch? For heaps of cupcake porn and a damn good cupcake recipe, click on! Let’s...